As I write this (which is obviously well before you're reading it), there are three weekends until Christmas. Do you think it's time to start planning for the new year? As an Occasional Genealogist, someone that doesn't have a lot of time for their own family history research, setting genealogy goals…
Showing posts from 2017
Posts contain affiliate links. See my disclosures page for details.
Do you want to bring home copies of genealogy records to reference later? This is a great strategy to save time at a repository you don't get to visit often or even to bring home finding aids. Maybe you know there's something you don't know. Referring to a copy rather than just your own notes can help yo…
Last spring I wrote a post about subscription savings , digitizing records, and Evernote . It was actually a combo post of three topics/ideas that segued from one to the other but that I didn't think each had sufficient material for a post. I'm more verbose than I thought. Now there are three posts. Here i…
How do professional genealogists accomplish so much more? Is it simply knowledge? Do they know more than you? Is it just experience? Have they been clued-in to some secret or magic formula? The magic theory seems to be pretty popular. In fact, it seems to be the belief held by many people that hire a professional ge…
Where was he born? Why isn't he in the 1860 census? Is this record for the same man or a different man of the same name? These are the questions every genealogist is constantly trying to answer. Would you spend an hour identifying a record that could answer these questions? Of course you would. After s…
UPDATE: I no longer recommend testing at AncestryDNA. Currently, there are severe limitations to the tools they offer and your options for third-party tools are now being limited. If you've already tested at AncestryDNA, this post will help with suggestions for transferring. For new tests, consider a site with mo…
I love using DNA for genealogy. That means I talk to a lot of people about DNA, whether they are "genealogists" or not. One thing I constantly tell people is DNA tests go on sale regularly. And right now (see update below for when is "now") is one of those sales. And this is a pretty big sale becau…
Ten years. Over ten years. I was stuck at a 4th great grandfather for that long. Most of that time I was pretty sure who his father was. But why wasn't there any proof? I was so afraid it was because he was NOT the father. Surely there should have been enough clues to put together (if no direct evidence). I …
I mentioned in last week's post that one way to save while doing more genealogy is drop a more expensive subscription in favor of a cheaper one (even if that is just a temporary option). This post is going to give you one specific example, newspaper subscriptions (paid AND free options!) This post has been upda…
UPDATE: I no longer recommend testing at AncestryDNA. Currently, there are severe limitations to the tools they offer and your options for third-party tools (like in this post) are now being limited. Some suggestions in posts may no longer be available for AncestryDNA results. This is too massive and changing too fast…
There is really only one way to save big bucks on your genealogy subscriptions. To get BIG savings you have to apply this method. The method works and is possibly the best way to do high-quality online research, too. The great thing is, there aren’t any complicated coupons, discount codes, or special websites…
Do you know how to identify genealogical clutter? Do you have systems in place to avoid creating clutter in the first place? Genealogical clutter isn't piles of physical papers. Learn how to identify and stop it! Recently I posted on " The Lunchtime Genealogist " series about decluttering your genealo…
The importance of siblings is a topic that can be discussed for any genealogical problem but sometimes it may be the best or only way to research a difficult female ancestor. How Do You Find a Woman's Maiden Name? A Grayscale of Social Interaction There are lots of suggestions for identifying records about…
This post contains affiliate links. A link to my disclosures can be found in the upper right. Today is the anniversary of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America. By chance I have a post ready that's all about being prepared. No really, it's by chance. This post suggests a system I've been thinking …
This post is being updated and has been split into two posts, use the links below to get to the information you're looking for: using and evaluating books as a genealogical source how to know if a genealogy source is right (not just about books)
Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day and I recently learned about a new finding aid that is appropriate to share today. Last week Upfront with NGS shared a notice they had received about the newly released online inventory of the International Tracing Service (ITS). You can read the post (with the link …
I often find posts I'd like to share with readers but they don't warrant me writing a whole post about them. So, I'm going to try the "round-up" style post with bits of information from around the Internet. Right now, I don't expect to publish this regularly but we'll see. This is also …
Cousin baiting is exactly like deer baiting in its purpose which is why the term is used. Not from a long line of hunters? Confused? Wondering if you should you put out a pile of grandma's cookies to lure your cousins in (you'll understand this in a moment if you don't already)? And why would you want …
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About Me
I'm Jennifer, and I'm an Occasional Genealogist... sort of. Like many of you, I started as an Occasional Genealogist. I had to squeeze research into my free time. Then I got my first genealogy job and for awhile, it was genealogy all the time! Now I have two kids. I do other people's genealogy constantly but my own? Coming up with ways to do great genealogy, despite the interruptions, is mandatory.